The Rocker
by Amber Lehcar
Summary: Future rock god and drummer Blake Barrett is crushed when his high school bandmates kick him out of the band. A year later, college is rough, and he can't quite shake the urge to pick up a pair of sticks. When Maka's friend, Tsubaki, knows a band in need of a drummer, Blake leaps for for the chance to head down the road to stardom once more.


_I absolutely love the movie The Rocker and had been inspired to write this for a while after listening to the soundtrack one night. Not completely like the movie, but definitely heavily inspired. This fic goes out to the lovely someironicusername as part of the fandom's Secret Valentine exchange. Happy Valentine's Day~!_

...

The crowd cheers, jumping to the beat of the music. Hot spotlights shine down on them, and the feeling is exhilarating. Songs like these are the reason he gets up in the morning. For the span of three to four minutes, he can rock out. He can feel like a god. And Blake is all for feeling like a rock god.

The song comes to an end and Kid returns to his mic stand. "And now for the Prom King and Queen's dance. Feel free to join in!" He nods to Liz and Patty who immediately start strumming chords to a slow song. Blake inwardly groans. Slow songs are his least favorite, consisting mainly of cymbal rolls that bore him to tears. But he concedes and plays along, rolling his eyes with every cymbal roll.

Kid's voice dances over the teenagers, smooth and sweet, while the girls continue strumming away. Liz had gotten good at making her guitar really sing, Blake has to admit. But even then, he can't stand to see his bandmates hogging the spotlight as he's forced to restrain himself for the sake of a dull slow dance. It's all too much, he can't hold back anymore, and he breaks into a blast beat. A drum solo had not been planned for any of the first half of their set, but here he is, wailing away on his drum kit. Blake is a rock god, and he'll be damned before he let anyone keep him out of the spotlight.

All sound stops in the high school gymnasium, save for Blake's aggressive drum playing. Kid, Liz, and Patty stare in horror as the drummer knocks over a cymbal and soon other parts of his drum kit. As he comes to the end of his solo, he jumps to his feet and punches the air, all before tossing a drumstick into the audience and hitting a student in the head. "Woo! How d'ya like that?!" he shouts to the silent crowd. No one moves, and all is quiet. "That kid's still alive right? No one died, why are you guys so quiet?"

A few chaperones make their way to the stage, mouths set in a grim line. One grabs Blake by the arm and begins to pull him off stage. "That's enough from you, you all need to leave." The other chaperones calmly explain to the rest of the band that they are being escorted out of the prom and are not allowed to return.

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" Liz spat. "We've been working the last two years to get to play for prom, and you're kicking us out?! This is our senior prom, you can't do this!"

With the sisters kicking and screaming, Blake slung over a chaperone's shoulder and waving his other drumstick, and Kid coming along with a silent fury, the chaperones successfully drag them all out of the gymnasium. As the adults leave, Blake shouts obscenities after them. "Can you believe these jerkwads? They think they can just kick us out like that? They haven't heard the last of me…"

"Give it a rest already!" Kid roars, fists balled at his sides. "This is all your fault! You can't keep your ego in check for one measly song! We've tried to work with that big head of yours over and over again, and you just threw away the chance we've worked for for years!"

Arms crossed, the drummer glares at him. "So what exactly are you trying to say?"

Kid shoves him hard. "I'm saying you're out of the band." Liz and Patty glance at the vocalist in surprise. Sure, Blake can be annoying and pig-headed, but the girls never thought they'd see the day Kid would toss him aside. They are friends, after all. Or at least were.

"So you think you can just kick me out of the band? Is that what I'm hearing? You guys hear this, too? You guys want me out, too, huh?" Blake turns to ask the girls. Before they can respond, he tosses his remaining drumstick in the group's general direction. "Fuck you! You guys are nothing without me! Just you wait, you'll come crying back to me when you can't find another drummer!"

With one last pointed glare at the boy, Kid motions for Liz and Patty to follow him away from the school. There is no reason for them to stay any longer.

"Yeah, go! Who needs you?!" Blake shouts across the parking lot at them. "I'm gonna make my own band! Yeah! We'll be even better than you guys, actually make it big! Just you wait!"

…

_One year later…_

He's vaguely aware of someone lightly shaking his shoulder. Didn't they know it's rude to wake someone when they are clearly trying to get some sleep? He opts to ignore the rude fucker who continues to shake his shoulder. That is, until they shake it even more violently. Blake snaps his head up to glare into the green eyes of the girl who had woken him up. "Maka, Jesus Christ, can't you see I'm sleeping?!"

"Class is over, idiot. It's been over for the last ten minutes," she replies, hands set on her hips. "When are you going to take college seriously?"

Wiping a bit of drool from his mouth, he gets to his feet and stretches. "You ever think that college isn't for me?"

"Sometimes," she says matter-of-factly. "But you made the decision to come here, and I've never seen you want to back out of anything you decide you want to do. It's one of your redeeming qualities."

"But this crap is so booooring! How does anyone do this day in and day out?" He snatches up his bag from the floor and over one shoulder before following Maka out of the classroom. "Thank God it's Friday. Probably cool stuff going on this weekend, right?"

"Not for me. I'm studying with Tsubaki this weekend."

His ears perk up at the new name. "Tsubaki? Who's that? You've never mentioned her before! How come I've never met her?"

"Gee, it's like it's been perfectly orchestrated that way." Maka sighs and the two enter the commons. "I met her earlier this year, and I know how you are around women, so I just never brought her up."

"What do you mean 'how I am around women'? I'm a fucking delight, don't you forget it! Man, if I was in my old band-"

"I thought we were never mentioning your high school band again?"

"I mean, if I had a band-"

"I thought you'd put that behind you so you can be an adult?" He stops in his tracks at her words, and she turns to face him. "Look, you need to get some studying done this weekend. I don't want to see you fail our class. I know you can do it if you put your mind to it, you just… need to come back to reality."

The bag strap on his shoulder begins to dig uncomfortably into his skin, and he shifts his bag awkwardly, trying not to look at Maka. "It's just… I've had this itch to play just one more gig, you know? Get this band stuff outta my system. I just need one more chance, and then I can give it up for good."

Maka rubs her forehead as she thinks through her next words. "Fine, I'll help you out. Tsubaki's brother has a band and they've been looking for a drummer. Auditions are this weekend. You can come with me when I go pick up Tsubaki for studying…"

Suddenly her hands are in his as he jumps up and down with glee. "Gonna nail that audition _and _meet the beautiful Tsubaki! Aw yeah!" And with that, he makes a beeline for the dorms, leaving Maka standing there wondering if she had just made a terrible mistake.

…

He stares up at the house in awe, and perhaps a bit of nervousness. This audition is exactly what he needs to get out of his funk, just one more chance to beat down on the drums and get the rocker out of his system. Plus it couldn't hurt his chance with Tsubaki. Could it…?

"Are you coming or not?" Maka calls from the stoop, already having rang the doorbell.

"Don't rush a rock god! I'm getting in the zone!" Blake shouts back as he storms up to the front door. And as he pushes Maka out of the way, the door opens revealing a tall, slender woman. He can't stop himself from staring. It has to be her. "Tsubaki…" he whispers, liking the way her name tastes on his lips.

"Oh? Are you Blake? The drummer Maka mentioned?" she asks with a sweet smile as she extends a hand to him. "I'm Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, but it looks like you already knew that." She giggles, bringing her free hand up to her mouth.

He takes her hand, getting down on one knee before planting a kiss on her fingers. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he says with a wink. She blushes and pulls her hand back slowly as he gets back to his feet. "So, where are these auditions at?"

"In the garage. Let me show you the way." Tsubaki leads the two into the house and through the door leading to the garage, Blake concentrating on her swaying ponytail with all his might so his gaze doesn't move to… other places.

The garage is a bit cramped for playing in a band. The walls are filled with shelves riddled with this, that, and the other, bins are nearly bursting at the seams on the floor, and the drum kit, amps, and guitar stands don't make the area any roomier. A young man fiddles with an amp on the floor while a taller man with similar hair to Tsubaki looms over him, bass still in his hands.

"This is pointless," the bassist grumbles. "We'll never find a drummer in time."

The white-haired man grins up at him. "Relax. We'll find him, I can feel it." A cough from Tsubaki catches both of the men's attention. "What's up, Tsubaki? Friends of yours?" he asks, glancing at the new guests, gaze lingering a bit longer on Maka.

Tsubaki moves behind Blake and nudges him slightly. "This is Blake. He's here for the audition?" He can feel her hands on the small of his back, fingertips ever so light. There's a slight tremble in her fingertips that he notices. Could she be nervous? And if so, about what?

With another toothy grin, the white-haired man gets up off the ground and goes to high-five Blake. "I'm Soul, guitarist. That guy there is Masamune, bassist and band leader." He jerks a thumb over towards the drum kit. "So, you gonna show us what you got?"

"Hell yeah!" Blake shouts, punching the air before bounding over to the kit. His grin widens as he picks up a pair of drumsticks, missing the feeling of the wood in his hands. He takes a moment to look at the others in the cramped garage, Masamune looking unimpressed next to a patiently waiting Soul, Maka encouraging him with a thumbs-up, and Tsubaki with an expectant look on her face. Taking a deep breath, he raises the drumsticks above the kit and begins.

God, he had missed this. His leg bounces a steady beat as the sticks make contact with the heads of the drums, foot rolling on the pedal for the bass drum. Being behind the drumkit is the closest to feeling at home he has felt since coming to college. He can already feel the blisters forming on his hands, and while he makes a mental note to remember gloves next time he gets the chance to play, he doesn't mind much. Blisters and calluses are all part of being a rock god, and he is happy to accept that.

Sweaty and out of breath, Blake comes to the end of his drum solo, eyes flickering between Soul and Masamune, searching for any kind of reaction. The guitarist raises an eyebrow to the bassist. "Well? Whatcha think? Seems pretty good to me," Soul says.

Masamune turns away from Blake and begins to mess with the tuning pegs on his instrument. "Pass," he says dully before walking towards the door. Maka and Tsubaki move out of the way, but the bassist throws Tsubaki a pointed glare nonetheless as he makes his way into the house, closing the door behind him.

Blake sets the drumsticks down and gets out from behind the kit. "Jeez, what crawled up his butt?"

"Eh, don't mind him," Soul replies, slinging an arm around the drummer's shoulders. "Just very… particular. He'll come around. Dude, your playing is the best we've heard in a while. He'd be crazy not to let you in."

Maka watches the boys with a sigh. "I'm not sure if he'll focus on his work after this. He'll probably make up some lame excuse about not getting a real chance to play again or…" She realizes that Tsubaki is no longer by her side, now nowhere to be found.

She had followed her brother into the house, arms crossed and face stern. "I heard the other auditions," she says, catching up with him in the kitchen. "His is the best any of us have heard, and you know it. Why turn him down?"

Masamune reaches into the refrigerator for a soda with a sigh. "I know his type. He won't take it seriously."

"Maka says he takes this very seriously."

"That means nothing to me." He sits at the kitchen table and takes a drink.

"Can't you just give him a chance? You gave Soul one and look at him now!" she pushes, taking a seat across the table and placing a hand on his free one. She stares at him with big puppy eyes.

Shifting his gaze into the can before him, he mulls over the decision, until finally, he slumps forward with a defeated sigh. "Fine, I'll give him a chance."

Tsubaki jumps up, triumph in her eyes, and runs around to hug her brother. "He'll be so excited!"

Swatting her away, he grumbles, "Yeah, yeah, let your little boyfriend know he's in."

She ignores the "boyfriend" comment and rushes to the garage to find Soul and Blake in the middle of a little jam session. Apologies fall from her mouth as she takes a seat next to Maka. Her gaze fixed on the drummer, she whispers, "He's in," to her friend.

Maka leans back and groans. "He's going to drag me to every practice, every performance. I just know it…"

"Why's that?"

She shakes her head. "To prove he could do it. Not to me though, I'm just a witness. He wants to prove it to himself."

As Tsubaki glances over at Maka and back to the boys, they finish playing. Blake doesn't even set his drumsticks down this time, instead making a beeline for the taller girl. "Whadya think?" he asks with a big grin on his face.

"I think you'll be a great addition to the band," she replies with a smile of her own.

He scratches his back with a stick. "Yeah, well, you heard your brother. He doesn't seem to think so."

"He changed his mind." Shock sets in as he stares at her in a way that asks if she's being serious. "Welcome to Doomsday Optimists!" she exclaims, clapping her hands in excitement.

The shock stays for just a moment more before Blake goes in for a hug. Despite how much taller she is than him, he still manages to pick her up and spin her around, shouting "Yahoo!" Masamune returns to the garage to see his sister off the ground, a little queasy looking but laughing nonetheless, in the drummer's arms. He, like Maka, shakes his head.

"This is going to be interesting…"


End file.
